Swiss government plans on tapping internet telephone conversations

14 October 2006

Swiss government plans on tapping internet telephone conversations

The Swiss Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications is looking in to
using software to listen to Voice Over Internet Protocol ‘VOIP’ conversations.

This is a new area because bugging VOIP is inherently difficult due to the fact that servers are
based in different locations/ jurisdictions and the fact that there are no records of calls made.

It is envisaged that the software will records ongoing conversations and sends the recordings in
broken up data packets back to a server controlled by the authorities. The software is also
capable of monitoring what is happening in the room it is located in.

At present the Swiss Surveillance Act does not allow for this type of ‘Trojan horse’ surveillance,
but federal criminal regulations do allow for this.

It will be interesting to see how The Swiss Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and
Communications gets round cross border issues when dealing with foreign jurisdictions and national
laws.

Izaz Ali